Monthly Archives: May 2015

Here is a first look at the 1 bedroom/1 bath exclusive I have in Manhattan’s best kept secret-The East River Co-op. The apartment has a low monthly maintenance of $605. The apartment has northern and western exposures and is located in a building with a gym, laundry and 24 hour attended lobby.

457 FDR front entrance Apt A-1102 comes on the market early next week!

Basially, in Manhattan’s real estate market, there are two markets- the world’s elite led by high net worth individuals both domestic and abroad and the affordable luxury purchasers. New construction is really only being built with the former market in mind. Many of the shiny midtown towers inlcuding 432 and 520 Park avenue, 157 W 57 street, 220 CPS as well as their downtown counterparts are focusing still on the large luxury apartments with scant offerings under even 2000 sqft.

Apparently, a co-op Board in Tudor City requested a potential purchaser to bring in their minor child for the Board interview. The buyer balked and got out of it by writing a convincing letter to the Board underscoring why she didn’t think this was a good idea. The Board smartly gave in and later on approved the buyer’s purchase of a $250k pied-a-terre at the Woodstock Tower. The buyer has since made a complaint with the Attorney General and is hoping to stop other Co-op Boards from doing the same practice.

I once had a co-op on Lower Fifth avenue that was going to interview the dog. Well, actually, they would have taken him for a walk and there would have been a 2 week grace period where the new purchaser would have to remove the dog if there was an incident. Thanksfully, the buyer chose a condo instead…

457 FDR also known as East River Co-op sits on the corner on Grand street and the FDR directly across the street from the East River Park which has a jogging path, river promenade, tennis courts, and amphitheater. This 1 bedroom one bathroom apartment has a low maintenance of only $479 per month without any assessment. The building has a renovated lobby as well as hallways, plus laundry as well as a gym.

The least expensive 1 bedroom in this building is in contract and the asking price was $525,000. The asking price for this one will be $450,000.

On the Community Board 7 site, there is an interactive map and a plan showing the expansion for the Upper West side from 59th street to 110th street. Community feedback is being solicited until June 1st by emailing office@cb7.org. See the full draft of potential sites which are part of the attempt to double the number of NYC bike stations by 2017.

A 15 foot townhouse SRO will be sold without the certificate of no harassment. It is currently vacant and the asking price is $1.3 million. The property needs a complete gut renovation but considering the recent asking prices in and around the Hamilton Heights Historict district, this is a tremendous discount. The property is owned by a bank and as such will be conveyed subject to the buyer assuming responsibility for all violations, liens and their monetary fines as well as the NYS and NYC transfer taxes.

Lila Maron and myself Brian Silvestry of BSRG Inc. are handling this listing. Lila has set up open houses already and bidding will be competitive and it is anticipated the property will be transferred at or above asking price.

Citibike now in expansion mode has announced several new stations to come to Manhattan’s Upper West side including 5 on Central Park west. This should be interesting as many pedestrians already often find themselves in peril walking on the streets on the Upper West side from delivery bikes and bicyclists that run lights. This expansion is part of Citibike’s expansion plan for Uptown. Read the NYPOST article below.

In January of this year, the Extell developed building known as One57 on Manhattan’s Billionaire Row set a record when it sold a 11,000 square foot duplex made up of the 89th and 90th floors for $100.47 million. It was the most expensive residential sale surpassing the previous record set at 15 CPW of $88mm. Now, as has been well documented in this blog and in the media, several other buildings are taking aim at this record and record breaking sell outs. Continue reading Luxury Manhattan market oversupplied?→